Car retarding apparatus



Feb. 23, 1932. w. BSELER l,846,830

CAR RETARDING APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 30, 1930 i Patented Feb. 23, 1932 nmen 'sur s WOLFGANG BSELER on MUNCH, ERMAN 5 i cAB RErARnING APPARATUS g Application filed August 30,..1930. i Serial Ne. 479,023. i i

This invention relates to car retarding ap paratus of the kind adapted to be located ad jacent to the track rails of a track over which 7 ,10 efiectedby frictional l action but also due to the eddy Currents generated by the movement' of thewheels or other po'rtions of the veh cle relative to the nagnetic' flux traversing the brake bars. r v I dently of advantage to arran'ge the brakebars in such a nanner that, when in operative engagement with-thewheels of thevehicle for the purpose of effecting retardation, the 20 brake bars willengage with the wheels at a point a sihigh as possible above the rim or flange of the wheel so as to increase thebraking action.` 4 This desirable ;location of the brake bars is however limited by the necess'ity for avoiding the fouling of the aXleboXes, brake rigging or other parts of the Vehicle by the brake bars and it'is generally only possible to permit the brake bars to project upwards beyond theheads of the track rails 30 to a small extent. In the case of` a loeon otive the permissible projection of the brake bars e above the track rails is considerably'less to avoid foulng and snce t s generallynecessary in shuntng operatons n hump'yards to permit the passageof trains'including'a locomotive over 'the retardingapparatus arrangnents must be provided for'lowerng the r upwarclly projecting portions of retarding apparatus from theirnormal positions when required.

The present invention has for itsprinjcipal object to provide improved lowering neeh ansm for ths purposea further ob ect being-to provide arrangements for Operating the lowering mechanisn aswill behereinafter described. The invention is illustrated' by ?way of eX- ample in the accompanying` drawings of which Figure lis a transverse' s'ection'al view of ear retarding apparatus enibodying one In apparatus of this c-haraeter it is evi 5 are in magnetic `engageme`nt ,spondng laminated yoke 6.

' material, the'searns'of the form ofthe invention,

thereof inside elevation with` certain parts I 'of the me'chanisn omitted for the sake of clearness. Figure 3 is VleW of the apparatus nechansn, *Fgure 4' a transverse sectional showingthe lower'ng s :a vew, partly" in side elevation, and partly in section,`. showing a a p onof the lowering mechanism; V

.Referrng now to the .drawings it will b seen that the apparatus eomprises longituclir nally arrangedlaminated brake bars lxprovided with brake Shoe members'2, the brake bars ,1 being arranged on each `sideofa`traek rail 3 -so as-to 'enable theflbrake-shoe menii bers 2 to engage with: opposite sides ofacar wheel 4. Located' beneath' eacholf` the .brake bars l andin nagnetic engagement therewith are a plurality of substantiallyvertical core .members 5 eachoonsisting -of aplurality of relatively thin plates of magnetizable ma- I terial arranged side by. side with one another.

The upper. ends of`eachcorerneniber 5 are n magnetic engagement withthe brake bar 1 and the lower, ends of 'eachcore in'enber 4 with a; orre- In theparticular enbodmeiit of theinven- `tion *described theapparatus comprises five yokes (of whichthree only are shown in Figure 2) each of these' yokes bein'gin magnete engagenent as shown lIl Fgure 1 with a core, member 5 arranged on each side of the track rail 3., r

, ach br the yolres 6: isprovdel'with'an energizing coil' 7 surrounding 'the yoke 'the' j latter being mounted a-sshown'in Figure l upon horizontal wooden supports ?8 inter pose'd between theyoke 6 'and thefoundation 9 on which the apparatus is supportedj The energizing coil 7 *is proteotedfagainst dust by being enclosed' in asheet and moistire metal casing'lOfill-ed with suitable insulatng sequently weldecl or solclered.

In' operation it will be understood the generated'bythe energizing coil 7 trans- Versesthe yoke, the core. members, brake casing lQbeing' I circuit of the fluX above refered to, it is unnecessary` to provide any mechanical coupling 'between the brake bars 1 and the' core members 5, the brake bars the upper ends of the core members so that i these brake 'bars can be readily removed for i the purpose of repair or replacement'. i

with the outer 'end Referring now more particularly to Figlowering of thebrake bars 1 in order to permt the passage of a locomo tive as above eXplained, it will be seen that each of the brake bars 1 isprovided at spaced intervalsntermediate the cores 6 with a plurality of brackets 13 arranged underneath the brake barl and' secured thereto by bolts as'illustrated or inany other suitable .manner. Each with a transverse bolt 1 1 'mounted in'suitable lugsformed on the bracket '13 as shown in Figure 4, the portion of the 'bolt 'lc'between theselugs being adaptedto be engaged by the :forked end of an arm 15 mounted upon a pivot'l, the lower end of the arm 15 being provided with 'a toothed segment 17.

The outenface of the braclet13 is provided with a transverse bar 18, theinner *face ofwhich is adapted to be engaged by the upper 'arm of a two-armed lever 20, rotatably supported upon a'suitable pivot 19. The lower armofthe lever 20 is adapted toengage l ofa collar 21 slidably mounted uponva rod 26, the right hand end of which is provided with' a 'fianged bushing'.

24 -secured thereto by means of a nut 25. In-

terposed between the flange on the bushing; 24: and the collar 21 'is a pair of compression springs 22, 23, adapted to oppose the move'- ment of the collar 21 towardsthe right along the rod 26. The opposite end ofthe rod 26 to that, carrying the nut y 25 is pvotally mounted inja stationary frame 27 in which fra-me 'the pivots 16 and 19 are also mounted.

1 The iframe 27 enelosesthe lower part of the lower'ing mechanism and is mounted upon the' foundation 9 015' the, apparatus in'any suitable manner. A transverse'shaft 28 is ro tatably m'ounted in suitable bearings Secured tothe frame 27 and carries at its inner end a tothed segment 29 adapted to'intermesh with the toothed segment 17 of the lowering mechanism of each brake bar 1. v I i? -The shaft 28 also cari'ies rgidlysecured thereto a recessedretaining member 30 adapted when the shaft 28 is in the angular position shown in Figure &to register with the i 'projecting endso' the bolts 14: mounted in the "provided brackets' 13 and thereby limit the outward movement of the brackets 13 away from one another. i i u The opposite endsof the bolts l itothose adjacent to the reta'ning member 30' are each with roller 31 adapted to move along a track or guideprojecti on'32 ormed on the frame 27therebygnidingthe raising 1 simply resting upon provided' with an Operating arm 34 rigidly -securecl,thereto, the arm 3 1 being pivotally connected to a driving rod 35 extending longitudinally Vas clearly shown in Figure 2. The drivng rod 35 extends for the full length of the reta-rding apparatus and is connected' fat ntervals to the several Operating arms 34:. of the brackets 13 lS provided Theextreme end of the rod 35 is suitably 'coupled 'to a nut member 36 adapted tobe member. 36. The spindle 37 is adapted to be rotatedthrough` suitable ogear'ing as in dicated n'Figure 2 by means of an electric motor 38 'provided with suitable means of control '(not shown) so 'as to cause the-'motor 38 tobe rotated in one or the other direction as may he desired. Itwill be apprcciated that the motor 38 through the mechanisn abovedescribed is 'adapted to efi'ect the movement of the driving rod 35 towards the right or left in accordance with "the directionof vrotation ofthemotor 38 and in cases in which the car retarding apparatus comprises brakng mechanisni for both'track rails the motor 38' may be arranged to operate similarly the drving rod 35 for the other trackrail. i

, The operation of i lowsz a The variousparts of the mechanisms being in their operative positions as shown, it Will the apparatus is as folbe evident that, when the energizing'coil 7 i is supplied with Operating current, the brahe bars 1 are attracted towardsone another so asto bring the brake shoes 2 into contact with the sides of the car wheel 4 as shown in Figures 1 and 3, this inward movement of the brakebars 1 being opposed however hy the -engageinentof the bars 18 with the upper arms of the pivoted levers 20. It' will beevident that the' inward movement of the bars' 18 tendsto causecthe levers 20 to be rotated about their pivots 19 insuch directions as to cause the lower arms ofthe levers 20 to move the collars 21 along the rods 26 there by compressing the springs 22, 23, the fur- 'ther inward movement of the bars 18 being prevented as soon as'the-springs 22, 23 are fully compressed. u v

- 'As soon' as thesupply of` energizing'cur rent to 'the col. 7'is mterrupted to cause the bralnng action to cease, the brake bars l 'are movedlapartfrom one another' 'under the 'actionof the springs 22,-23, which in these circumstancesmove' the collars 21 inwards along therods 26 thereby causing the levers 20 to be rotated'about the pivots -19 in such directions as to withdraw the brake shoes 2 from engaging withthe sides of the carwheel 4, this withdrawal of the brake shoes 2-being assisted by the weight of the brake shoes 2 and of the brake bars l. r

So long as the shaft; 28 and the retaining member 30' carried thereby occupy the posi tion shownin Figure 4, the' outward movement of the br'ackets 13 to withdraw the b'ake shoes 2 from thecar wheel 4 is limited by the engagement .of the .bolts l l with theends of the recessed portion of the member 30 and in this positionthe -brake shoes 2 are arranged to be "withdrawn to such an eXtent as to permit the wheels of the cars to run through the retarding apparatus v without any braking action being exerted.

If now it isde sired 'to 'effect the ilowering %of the brak'e barsl and the Jbrake shoes 2 in order to permit a loco motive to j run through the retarding 'apparatus, Operating current is supplied to the electrc motor' 38 so as to cause its rotation in such a direction as to move thedriving rod 35 shown in Figure 2 towards the left. As a' result the 'arms 34 of each lowering mechanism are angula-rly displaced so as t'o rotate each `of the' corresponding shafts 28 anclthereby move the corresponding retaining member 30 awa from the bolts 14 and these bolts being thus freecl as regards outward movement the brackets -13 carryingthe brake bars l are moved outwards under the `action of their `own weight and' under' the :action of the 'springs 22, 23.' This outward movement of the' brackets 1 3 is accompanied by a corresponding o-utward movement of the armsl with the result that the* segments` 17 L are caused to intermesh with the toothed segment 29 carried by the shaft 28 and the continued rotation of the shaft28 will accordingly cause the arms `15 to be positively 'moved still further outwards away .from one another carrying 'with themthe' brackets 13. During this outward movement the inner ends of the brackets 13 'are supported by the rollers 3l engaging withthe track projectionsr32, the brackets 13 being also supported` 'by reason 'of the guide projections 33 resting upon the upper arm of the .levers' 20."

.It will now beapparent' that during the outward movement of thebrackets 13 above;

described theinner ends of these brackets are lowered by theengagement of the rollers 3l'with the track projections. 32 so that the brake bars l are displaced` from 'their upwardly inclined positions shown in' Figures` l and 3 to positions n which "the brake bars I l are substantially horizontal and-are approXimat-ely at or slightly above thelevel of the headof the track rail 4, thereby permitting the passage of 'a locomotive through the V retarding apparatus without any danger 'of .the brake' barsror brake shoes ifoulin'g any portion of the locomotive'.

- In order to restore'the brake bars to their .normal operative position, energiz'ing current is supplied to the motor 38 so as to cause the p rotation of the motor to move thedriving rods e 35 towards the right. :Each of the shafts 28 is thusrot'ated'in an anti-clockwise direction as viewed in'Figures 2 and l with the result that byfmeans of the toothed segment 29 co- Operating with the toothed'se gments 17 the arms 15 are rotated in'such directions as to eflect theraising of the bolts 14 'and conse-` quently of the inner ends ofthebrackets 13 and of the brake bars 1. T V

The latte'r partof the movement "of the driving rods 35 eaus`es .thetoothed segment 29 to be disengaged *from the'toothed segment' `has been described by way of example'it is y tobe understood that 'various modifications may be made within the scope of the appended claims without exceeding the ambit 1, of the invention.` r g i u Hav ng now descrbedmy nventon, what ,I claim as new and `desireto securebytLetters Patent, is

1. In' car retardingapparatus theflco mbination ofapair of brake bars, a plurality of yoke members distributedat'intervals along the length 'of said brake bars, means for magnetically -connecting each of said` yoke members to both of said brakebars, supporting members Secured v at intervals along the lengthofeach. of said brake'bars, astaframe and engaging with said supporting i tionary iframe adjacent to each of said memg bers, 'a movablemember mounted in sa d member`,- remotely controlled means foractu j ating said movable member, and means inde- 'pendent of said remotely controlled'. means s for' effecting themovementof said movable memb'er r V v 2. In car 'retardngapparatus the combi-. `'nation ofa pair of brake'bars, a plurality of ykefl members distributed at intervalsalong u i the length of saidbrake bars, means'formaga neticallyj cnnecting each of said yoke members' to both of said brake bars, a plurality of bra'cket members Secured at .intervals to each of said bra-ke bars, bolt members mounted in each of said bracket members, a stationary frame'ad acenttoeach of said braoket mem bers, amovable member mounted in said frame and engaging with said ,bolt member and a spring member mounted on said frame and engaging with said movable member.

^ 3. In car retarding apparatus the com'bination of apair of brake bars, a plurality of yoke members distributed atintervals along the length of said brake bars, means for magnetically co nnecting each lot' said yoke mem: bers to both of said' brake bars, a plura'lity of bracket members secured to each of said brake bars, a bolt member pivotally monnted in each of saidbracket members, a stationary fram e acljacent to eachof said 'bracket' members, a forked member piv'otal-ly mounted 111' sad frame and engagmg with `said bolt member, a two-armed laver pivotally 'monnted in said frame, 'the upper arm of said lover engagingwith said 'bracket 'member and the lower arm of said leVer engaging with a spring member mounted in' said frame and means for. rotatng said forked member about itspivot. 4. In car retarding apparatus` the' combination of a pair of brake bars, a'plurality of yoke members Secured at intervalsalong the length of said bra'ke bars, means formagnetically connecting each of saidyoke members to both of said brake bars, .a plurality 'of bracket members Secured to each of said brale bars, a 'bo-lt member pivotally mounted in each of said bracket members, 'astationary rame adjacent to each of said bracket members, a rotatable shaftmountecl n sad frame, ina

direction at right angles to the length of said brake bars, a toothed segment Secured to' said shaft,.a forked member .pivotally mounted in said frame and engaging with said bolt mem ber, a toothed segment Secured to saidforked member, atwo--armed leVer pivotally mounted in 'said'frame, 'the upper ,arm of said lever engaging with said bracketjmember and the lower ,arm ofsaid leverengagng with a spring member monnted n sad frame, a

shaft extendi'ng longtudinally 'in a direction j parallel to said r brake bars, and means for rotating' the shaft mounteclin each of said frames by means ofsaid longtiudinal shaft.

i 5'. In car retarding apparatus the combina- ;tion of a pair of brake bars, a plurality of yoke members secnredjatintervals along the length of said brake bars, means for magn etically conn'ectiong each of said yoke members to both of saidbrake-bars, a plurality of bracket members Secured to each of said brake bars, a statonary frame adja'cent to each of said bracket members, a rotatable -shaft mormted in said frame in a direction at right anglesto the length of saidbrake bars, 'a

forked 'member pivotally -mounted in; said' frame and engaging with said bracket mem- :ber,1a shaft extending longitndinally in adirection Parallel to said brake bars, means .for

rotating the shaft in each of said-frames by A means of saidlongitudinal shaf-t, atoothed segment in each frame mounted on said rotatable shaft and co-operating with toothed frame adjacent to each of sadbracket mem- -.bers, a rotatable shaftmounted in said frame ina direction at 'right angles to' the length of saidbrake'bars, a forked member pivotally mountedin 'said-frame and engaging with said boltmember, a two-armed lever pivotally mounted in said f-rame, the upper arm of said lever engaging withsaid bracket member and the lower arm of said lever engaging with a spring member mounted in said frame, a `shaft 'extending longitudinally ,in a direction parallel to said brake bars, a toothed segment in each frame mounted ,on said rotatable shaft and cooperating with toothed seg- -ments carried on.: each of said forked levers, means for connecting each ofsad rotatable shaftsto said longitudinal shaft, a motor device-and means for coupling said longtudinal shaft to said motor for effecting the longitudinaldisplacement of said shaft'.

7. In car retarding apparatus the com'bination of a pair, of' brakebars, a plurality of 'yoke members Secured at ntervals along the length of' said brakebars, means'for magnetically'connecting each of said yoke, members toboth of said brake bars, a plurality of supporting -members `Secured to each of said brakebars 'and distributed at spaced inter- Vals along said bars', a stationary framefor each pair of supporting members, and a' twoarmed lever mounted in said frame for; each of said supporting members, the one armet each leter engagingwith the adj acent supporting ,member and the .other armof each leVer engagmg with 'an assocatedspr-ng I member monnted in the adj acent frame.

-:,`8 .-'In car retarding "apparatus the A combination of a' pair 'of brake bars arranged parallel to' a track rail, spring-actuated means for moving said bra-ke bars froma higher positon towards a, ;lower position, means, 'for e limiting the; downward movement of *said brake bars, releasing means for rendering said limiting means ino'perative, and means driven by said releasing means for positively effectng a further downward 'movement of said brake bars. f

' In testi'mony'whereof I have hereunto set myhand., V. t ar i r WOLFGANG' BSELER 

